Recent work in our laboratory has demonstrated that certain drugs may be attached to well-defined "carrier" molecules and still retain the ability to bind to the receptor site and effect biological activity. This synthetic strategy for the attachment of drugs to carriers is termed the "functionalized congener" approach. The "carrier" molecule may be many times larger than the parent drug; indeed there is practically no maximum size limitation for a fully potent analog. Unlike the prodrug approach or the immobilization of drugs for slow release, the "functionalized congener" approach is designed to produce analogs for which no metabolic cleavage step is necessary for activation. Moreover, the attachment of the drug to a "carrier" such as a peptide may result in enhanced affinity at an extracellular receptor site and an improvement in the pharmacological profile of the parent drug. Purine derivatives containing attached chains were developed as functionalized congeners for adenosine receptors and for ATP receptors. Reporter groups such as fluorescent dyes have been covalently attached resulting in receptor probes of relatively high affinity. Sites for chain derivatization on the structure of ATP and selective muscarinic antagonists have been located. A3 adenosine receptors are important in the regulation of CNS, cardiac, inflammatory, and reproductive functions. We have developed the only selective agents for this novel receptor. Selective A3 agonists are effective in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. Antagonists have been proposed to have anti-inflammatory properties. New xanthine and adenosine derivatives are being synthesized, screened for A3-receptor selectivity, and later tested in vivo. Irreversibly-binding receptor probes are being developed.